Joseph Bertram "Joe" Jackson (born July 26, 1929 in Fountain Hill, Arkansas[1], United States) is an American talent manager, former boxer and former musician best known as the father of American entertainers Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson, and the creator and manager of The Jackson 5, a Motown group comprising several of his children.

Biography

Early life

Joseph Jackson was born in Arkansas, the eldest of four to Samuel Jackson and Crystal Lee King.[2] His parents separated when he was 12. He moved with his father to Oakland, California, where he lived until after turning 18 when he moved to East Chicago, Indiana, to live near his mother. While there, he met his future wife Katherine Scruse. After a brief marriage to another woman and then an annulment, Joseph and Katherine began a courtship resulting in their November 5, 1949 wedding. Settling in Gary, Indiana, Joseph, a former boxer, worked full-time as a crane operator at Gary's U.S. Steel company, while Katherine tended to their children. In the mid-1950s, Joseph started a music career with his brother Luther, playing guitar in a band called The Falcons. The group split up a couple of years later after failing to get a recording deal. Joseph returned full time to his job at U.S. Steel.

Current work

Joseph is currently hosting a boot camp for aspiring hip-hop artists, both to move his career to the next stage and to change what he sees as distasteful about the genre. "Everybody is liking rap now. I'm going to have to clean it up a little bit, all that vulgar language out there. I'm going to have to keep that clean, with nice singing in it, and great music.

Controversies

Joseph's image as a father was tainted throughout the late 1980s through the mid 1990s in which the media reported stories told by some of his children that he was abusive towards them. When he managed his family, he ordered each of them to call him "Joseph", which led to several siblings being estranged from their father.

Michael Jackson claimed that from a young age he was physically and emotionally abused by his father, enduring incessant rehearsals, whippings and name-calling, but also admitting that his father's strict discipline played a large part in his success.[3][4] In one altercation—later recalled by Marlon Jackson—Joseph held Michael upside down by one leg and "pummeled him over and over again with his hand, hitting him on his back and buttocks."[5] Joseph would also trip up or push his male children into walls. One night while Michael was asleep, Joseph climbed into his room through the bedroom window. Wearing a fright mask, he entered the room screaming and shouting. Joseph said he wanted to teach his children not to leave the window open when they went to sleep. For years afterward, Michael suffered nightmares about being kidnapped from his bedroom.[5]

Michael first spoke openly about his childhood abuse in a 1993 interview with Oprah Winfrey. He said that during his childhood he often cried from loneliness and would sometimes get sick or start to vomit upon seeing his father.[6][7][8][9] In Michael's other high profile interview, Living with Michael Jackson (2003), the singer covered his face with his hand and began crying when talking about his childhood abuse.[5] Michael recalled that Joseph sat in a chair with a belt in his hand as Michael and his siblings rehearsed and that "if you didn't do it the right way, he would tear you up, really get you."[10]

In 2003, in an interview with Louis Theroux for a BBC TV documentary called Louis, Martin & Michael, Joseph admitted to using physical punishment on his children and also voiced his disapproval of homosexuality.[11] In the same documentary, Joseph took advantage of the opportunity to promote his record label's new artists, even though the intention was to talk about Michael in the interview.[12][13]

Following the June 25, 2009 death of his son, Michael, Joseph attended the BET Awards on June 28. The event was hastily reorganized as a tribute to Michael following his sudden passing. Joseph appeared at the event, speaking to several reporters about Michael's death.[14] He struggled with CNN reporter Don Lemon's questions about his family, first appearing cheerful, then mournful, then asking a family spokesperson to read a prepared statement. After the statement was read, Joseph talked about his new hip-hop recording project. This exchange led to accusations of insensitivity from the press.[15] In a press conference two days later, Joseph said he had honestly answered a question about what he had been doing, and mentioned his recording project again before going on to praise Michael's life and work.

Jackson is alleged to have fathered a child, Joh'Vonnie Jackson, with Cheryl Terrell.[16][17]

Michael Jackson possessed the three "key" ingredients that I have stated over and over again are what the CIA "talent scouts" prefer in a child whom they desire to incarcerate in a mind control program and exploit within the entertainment industry for their own gain.

Report: At Least Five Doctors Under Investigation In Michael Jackson Death

Access Hollywood - July 6, 2009 6:36 AM PDT

Access Hollywood

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Michael Jackson is set for a public memorial service open to thousands on Tuesday -- but in the meantime, authorities continue to investigate the King of Pop's death on June 25.

According to the Los Angeles Times, authorities are investigating at least five doctors who prescribed drugs to the singer. A source told the paper that "numerous bottles" of Diprivan, a powerful anesthetic agent typically administered in hospitals, were found in the star's Holmby Hills home following his death. The drug's side effects include possible heart and breathing problems -- Jackson was found unconscious and went into cardiac arrest before being declared dead, suggesting that the drug may have played a role in his untimely passing.

Results of toxicology tests done during Jackson's official autopsy are still several weeks away. A second, private autopsy has been reportedly done on the singer, but the results not disclosed.

Over 1.6 million fans have entered the lottery for tickets to Michael's public memorial at Staples Center in LA on Tuesday. An AEG spokesperson told NBC News on Sunday that 8,750 winning fans were be notified via e-mail by 6 PM PST on Sunday, contrary to reports that they wouldn't find out until Monday.

However, according to the Times, fans will have to wait until Tuesday to see what the Jackson family has planned.

"This is a memorial, not a show, and there will be no information about who will be a part of it before the event," Ken Sushine, the Jacksons' rep, told the paper on Saturday.

A number of stars have already paid their respects to the King of Pop. Madonna honored him with a performance and a Jackson look-a-like on Saturday night at London's O2 Arena, where Jackson himself was set to perform later this month before the news of his death, and Beyonce sang a song at her Atlanta, Ga., tour stop on July 1 with lyrics about the late singer not fading away. Last weekend's BET Awards also saw such artists as Ne-Yo and Jamie Foxx paying tribute to Jackson.

We wont have to wait too long before people start to say that Michael hoaxed his own death and is secretly holidaying somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle with Elvis Presley and Lord Lucan!
Michael Jackson was made for conspiracys wasn't he?